Activities of tipper truck drivers at Mallam Junction continue to pose serious threat to the sustainability of the Mallam Junction overpass as one of the underground drainage systems that aid safe passage of water is under the process of refilling to be used as a tipper truck station.
This comes after several complaints from residents in the area to the Ga South Municipal Assembly and the chief of Gbawe, the principal custodian of the land to stop the tipper truck drivers, but to no avail.
Day in day out, broken walls, beams, pillars and sand are dumped into the drains and the swampy area which allow easy passage of water. The DAILY HERITAGE investigations have revealed that despite the assembly’ effort to relocate the tipper truck drivers to Kokroko bus terminal, some traditional leaders at Gbawe and other powerful political players have moved them directly under the overpass and sold the drains and swampy area to them which happens to be the only safe passage of water.
The situation has prevented the safe passage of water following the June 3 rains which exposed the small drains by nearly uprooting the Electricity Company of Ghana pole that serves the area.
Apart from refilling the water passage, the activities of the tipper drivers in the area will expose the place to frequent accidents considering the busy nature of the road.
A letter written by the Ga South Municipal Assembly and signed by the Municipal Chief Executive, Jerry Akwei Thomson, a copy of which is available to the DAILY HERITAG, to the Millennium Development Authority, said following a meeting with the assembly and transport union operating under the Mallam overpass, it has decided to postpone the relocation date of Friday, July 31, 2015 to Friday, October 23, 2015.
The statement said the decision was taken due to the plea of the transport operators to be given ample time to relocate from their present location to the Kokroko bus terminal.
“To this effect, all structures and properties will be removed from the premises of the area surrounding the Mallam Overpass Bridge, the assembly is, therefore, optimistic that the premises would be available latest by November 1, 2015,” the statement stated.
However, despite this assurance, the tipper truck drivers revealed that their effort to refill the drains and the swampy area right close to the Mallam junction was because they bought the area from some traditional authorities.
The paper’s source at the Ministry of Highways revealed that there have been more than six different meetings on the subject, but any time they meet it ends inconclusive because there are some political players involved.
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